Anthony Bourdain Sends a Bloody Valentine to Celeb Chefs

Look out Paula Deen and Rachel Ray, Anthony Bourdain has it out for you. In his latest foodie diatribe, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, he attacks celeb chefs, saying there are about as many real chefs on the Food Network as there are music videos on MTV. (Here, here!) He'll be in town next week to promote Medium Raw, which is basically a bitter critique of the food industry in the ten years since he wrote his best-selling tell-all Kitchen Confidential.

But where does Bourdain get off ripping on TV chefs? Sure, he spent 28 years in the some of the most famous kitchens in France and NYC. But in recent years, Bourdain is more of a food enthusiast than a chef de cuisine. On his Emmy-winning travelogue TV series No Reservations, he ventures to exotic locales such as Egypt, ditching the pyramids to feast on stuffed pigeons. As he eloquently says, "Fresh from an orgy of pigeon killing, and still spitting feathers and beak bits on the floor of the cab," he heads to the next meal -- lamb nuts and rice. His eyes glimmer when a restaurant server says they have whiskey, which, in Egypt, turns out to be pickled water. Always an amiable guest, he downs the bitter brew and reaches for a hookah. But does he still cook?

Anthony Bourdain reads at the Lincoln Theatre (541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) on Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30 p.m. Get your free ticket now by purchasing a copy of Medium Raw at any Books & Books. Call 305-448-9599 or visit www.booksbooks.com.